Eastern Divide 50k...ready or not

This past weekend we headed out to the mountains of southwest Virginia and ran the Eastern Divide 50k.  It turned out to be a great race, great weekend, and a good chunk of hills, just what I wanted.  This was also the last race in my training for VT100.  Now it's time to trust my training, start honing in my nutrition, and getting some rest(that'll be the tough part).  Here's the race in a nutshell.

Eastern Divide is a point to point race that is ran at ~4000' for most of the race and according to my new GPS Fenix ascends nearly 5500' and descends roughly 3700'.  We parked near Mountain Lake and were shuttled to the start at the Cascades trail.  The first few miles were pretty tough climbing almost 1800' and offered some great views including a massive waterfall around mile 2.  After making our way to the first aid station we climbed another 500' and started a slow descent.  The next 10-12 miles were rolling fire roads some with panoramic views of neighboring West Virginia.

Around mile 17 or so we started another tough climb that would lead us into single track trails that began at mile 22.  All day long the trails were great, never crowded, and the people we met were pretty cool.  The race must have been pretty legit because a couple of the people we met were using it as 100 mile training.  Aid stations were top notch and the volunteers were outstanding.  After winding through trails lined with huge hemlocks and ferns we had a short meadow crossing and then one final descent that would eventually wrap us around Mountain Lake and shortly after we would cross the finish line.

We moved all day at a consistent pace, never being passed by another runner, and passing aprox. a half dozen or more.  Our pace on the climbs was nice and we were even commended on how quickly we moved up them, not too bad eh?  All in all everything about Eastern Divide was great, the race director made sure to congratulate every runner that crossed the finish line.  After a quick wardrobe change we grabbed some good grub and a fat tire rolle bolle and watched a few more runners cross the line.

To sum it up the race was more than we wanted and we ran a pretty decent race for a couple flatlanders.  Kelly again managed to PR ( I should mention that this was her third 50k of the season and third PR, pretty badass huh?).  So now it's go time.  Time to officially put my 100 mile hat on and get mentally focused.

This year so has had many up and downs but training for Vermont has allowed me to take small breaks and just run. My training this year has given me a new found love for the mountains. I feel that I have experienced and grown more as a person and runner in these last few months than the last couple years. I can't wait for Vermont, I am counting the days. I can only hope that this year is half as good as last. 

Two for one

A little more than two weeks ago Kelly and I packed the truck and headed out to beautiful West Virginia for the Capon Valley 50k for a day of rain, mud, and hills.  Capon was also five weeks post surgery so with a lack of good training I wasn't sure how I would bounce back.

Once we arrived and picked up our bibs we walked back to where we had parked to finish getting ready for the rest of our day.  The race started on time and after a mile or so of grass and pavement we hit the trails.  It rained for the first couple hours of the race but even if it had been a sunny start our feet would have still been wet due to the fifteen water crossings (this is an estimated guess).  The course was everything I was hoping for in fact it was almost like a miniature VT100.  It had the right amount of climbing, flats, and downhills.  I even had the chance to meet another runner who was training for his first 100, and even better his first VT100.

The course quickly turned rather muddy but I still really enjoyed it, although it would be a great course to run on a drier day.  Finally after many ups, downs, mud, and yes more water crossings we finished the race in pretty good shape.  We grabbed some post race food, chatted about the race and then made the drive back to Maryland.  All in all a really fun experience.

Next in line was my second chance to get my much needed 50 miler in the books.  We would head to Philadelphia for the Dirty German Endurance Festival.  Kelly ran the 25k and reminded me that she isn't the one training for a 100 miler.  Although she's right I'm more than confident that I will have the best trained pacer on the VT100 course, and to prove it she finished 18th overall female!

The 50mile course consisted of a short 3.5 mile loop and then 3 15.5 mile loops.  The terrain was a mix of single and double track that had minimal climbing but did roll and then a stretch of pavement that covered 3.5 miles.  I wasn't too pressed on running for a time rather hoping that I could focus on a solid nutrition/hydration schedule.  For the most part I did a pretty good job and subsequently ran a sub 10 hour race.

I'm fairly certain that I wouldn't run the Dirty German 50 Miler again, not because it wasn't ran great or because I didn't care for the course, but because I am finding that I prefer to head away from cities to run.  I'm finding that the more time I spend running trails the more I find myself more at home and excited in the smaller mountains and hills that are a short car drive away.  And although you'll find me getting my weekday mileage in on the pavement my thoughts are in planning which trail I'll run on my free weekends.

These two races were much different both in distance and in atmosphere.  Without a doubt, despite not having the best weather, I enjoyed Capon over DG.  Perhaps it's because I enjoy the walk breaks I get on the climbs or the the quietness and solitude you can find on more rural races.  I again found a way to use these races as tools, for both my training and life. 

The countdown for Vermont is on and I can't wait...it's going to be a special day.